snowmc

Does anyone have experience using a credit card to pay for a private tour in St. Petersburg? I am considering using one to get the points instead of paying in cash.

We are sailing the Eclipse on July 17 and are also Elite. What time did you embark? We prefer to be on early, but don't want to get there before they are prepared.

Sometimes the perks offered by TAs do not show up on the website. Check the invoice your TA sent you...it should be noted there. Be sure to print out the invoice showing all perks you should be receiving and take that onboard with you. If you have any problems once you board, customer relations will correct it for you. It may take a day or two, but it will be corrected.

Our cruise in May 2016, our OBC was not showing up. They had a problem with the manifest for the entire ship....OBC was credited by the 2nd day.

Just noticed price drop to $1031. Will wait til 1st of year. Added note we lived in Meridian for 10 yr. Retired from Sears and wife from Merrill Lynch.

Small world! We are considering relocating to Florida or Texas in the next few years. Kids are moving around the world (oldest daughter lives in England, oldest son is Navy, youngest daughter works for Disney and other son is planning to move soon) and its looking like none of them will remain/return to Idaho.

Keep checking airfares....airlines will have fare sales periodically. We got a GREAT deal with United for England for this summer. Was only a 2 day sale and only for London...not published, just got lucky. We managed to get business class for $2800/person....unheard of!

Its a little early to be looking for good airfares for next May. Wait until after the 1st of the year...prices will drop. Keep checking the Choice Air website and airline websites. I usually find the best prices a few months before flying.

I'm quite sure that's not true. Last month, I had tons of OBC since I booked my future cruises on board. I went to the casino and at the roulette table handed over my sea-pass card and asked for $100. They immediately ask if you know about the 5% charge. I said yes. They then signal for the pit boss who swipes your card and makes you sign the slip for $105. I was then given chips as per my choice ($25 / $5 / singles). I played for a bit and usually walked off after loosing 10-15 USD. Got up twice after winning $20. Just request to cash out and they will hand over normal chips which can be encashed as the casino cashier.

 

I did this on the Allure in May 2016, on the Explorer last month and on the Celebrity Silhouette in 2015,2014 and 2013.

 

Nick

If the OBC is refundable, they will give you the regular chips. If your OBC is nonrefundable, promotional chips are issued. If by some lucky chance you found a pit boss who is not following the policies set out by Celebrity, then good for you! But don't expect it to happen every time. We were able to cash out our non-refundable OBC in July 2015 on the Solstice. May 2016 on the Millennium, no such luck.

Celebrity has changed the way the issue chips in the casino. You can no longer just withdraw your OBC by paying the 5%, you get promotional chips....however, they do look at your account. If you no longer have OBC's they still will give you chips with the 5% surcharge....but if you still have an obc of any type, they will only give you promotional chips.

If you have refundable OBC, they will issue you the normal chips, which you can then cash out. If you have non-refundable OBC, they will only issue the promotional chips.

Casino: They will allow you to use your OBC for chips, but they will issue you special ones that can only be used for playing...you will not be able to cash them in. You can only cash in your winnings.

Internet: the only package I can find on the website (including our currently booked cruise) is the unlimited internet. I suggest calling the Captain's Club at 800-760-0654. They will be happy to provide that information.

It would be easier and cheaper to just fly into Heathrow, then take either the train or bus to Southampton. There are several cruise transportation companies that make that trip daily. Do a Google search for them.

You can upgrade on board but I'm not sure about "downgrading". Are the prices equal, that is the Classic and Non-Alcohol? I would check that out and then call Celebrity again. It all depends on who you speak to on any given day. If you are using a TA, let them try to do it for you.

 

Good luck

 

Pat C

As was noted previously, the nonalcoholic package is cheaper than the classic package....since the passenger only wants nonalcoholic beverages, they can keep the classic package and just order the drinks they prefer. There is no need to downgrade....no benefit to the passenger....all beverages included in the nonalcoholic package are included in the classic.

We have sailed with the premium package our last 3 cruises. Sometimes a computer error will occur and a charge will sneak through. Customer Relations is always happy to have it removed....things happen ;)

The beverage package is wonderful....it is a fun way to try new drinks...and if you don't like it, don't drink it...go try something else!

After 3 cruises, this is the ONLY way we will cruise any longer. No worries about how much we are spending. After a few days, some of the bartenders will recognize you and not ask for the sea pass any longer. We have also been able to try wines that are not on the menu.

I do not recall seeing Gatorade or sports drinks offered for sale on the ships. They do have vitamin water and red bull.

As a perk we received the classic alcohol beverage package. One person in our group wishes to change the classic alcohol beverage to the premium nonalcoholic beverage package. A call to celebrity told us that this is not possible. I believe the alcohol package is somewhere around 50/day and the nonalcoholic is around 19/day. Does anyone have experience in changing the beverage package?

The premium nonalcoholic package is much cheaper per day....$22/day vs $55/day for the classic. There is no benefit to changing to a cheaper package....just keep the one that is on the booking and order the beverages they like. They will be able to order anything under the $ amount...the classic package also includes sodas and bottled water.

Doing a RT from Seattle on the Solstice, it doesn't really matter which side you are on. Since it is a roundtrip, each side will have a chance to be on the land side. And the Captain will turn the ship will in the fjord, so that all sides can get a view. That being said, while in the fjord....GET OUT ON DECK!!!! Even if it is raining...so worth it. Just put on the layers and get outside!

We have done this cruise several times. You will have an amazing time. Alaska is truly incredible. I prefer it over Norway....the mountains are awe inspiring.

I would chose the itinerary over ship. The Summit, even though older, is a wonderful ship. The room sizes are basically the same. I actually find the layout a little nicer on the Millennium class ships. And I LOVE the water view elevators on the Summit.

Either way, you will have a wonderful cruise.

When you put your cell phone in "air plane mode" what services will you be able to use? I will be on the Solstice in Alaska.

 

I will have a wifi package on the ship, if that helps. Will I be able to send texts and check social media while in "air plane mode" using the ships wifi?[/quote

 

After you place your phone in "airplane mode", go into settings and turn your wife on. This will provide you access to the ship's wifi and not allow calls to your phone. We were on the Millennium in May and did this in order to use the onboard wifi. Since we all had iPhones, we were able to text each other using iMessage. If you don't have iPhones, you can use Facebook messenger to contact each other. There are other apps available also, such as WhatsApp to are easy to use. Sure made life easier finding our family.

 

Enjoy Alaska...it is one of our favorite cruises.

The currencies will rebound back to where they were last week soon. It's best to just wait to you are there and use the ATM. If you buy currency now, from home, you will pay an uncharge to the company you are purchasing it from.

Example....I checked this morning on the British pound. Trading at $1.36 If I purchased £s to take with me, the exchange rate was $1.43....difference of ¢7...if you purchase £200, that's $14

Not worth it. I will just wait till we are there in 2 weeks and use the ATM....my bank does not charge me ATM fees and refunds any that are charged from the other bank.

You can also use credit cards for almost everything and you will receive the current exchange rate. Many credit cards are not charging foreign exchange charges now....check with you company.

Muuga is container port, never use for cruise ships and that came from the customer relations manager at port of Tallinn last year when I emailed as our eclipse sailing was showing Muuga not Tallinn. Was told ALL cruises berth by old town. Hope this helps

Thank you.....this is what I had pretty much determined, but it is good to hear it first hand. :)

We were on the Sillhouette last week and were moved to Rostock because of overcrowding at Warnemunde. Celebrity ran free shuttles to both Warnemunde and Rostock.

We had a private tour scheduled and they made the port switch with no problem.

In Talinn we ported near the old town.

Good to know they ran free shuttles to both towns. Hope they continue to do this for our ship....sure would make it easier to catch the train to Schwerin or pick up a rental car.

Strange, not found a single search result that shows Rostock as a cruise port, only Warnemunde. Did you experience a cruise docking at Rostock and not Warnemunde? I follow Baltic itineraries and it's always shown as Warnemunde.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We are sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse July 17. Our port call in Rostock is July 20th. The cruise before us calls at Warnemunde and I believe the one after us does also. Our cruise is sold out, so it is not showing on the website. When booking shore excursions (which we are not doing), the port states Rostock.

This is the official website for the port: http://www.rostock-port.de/en/cruise-shipping/port-calls/2015-port-calls.html It shows the Eclipse at LP31, the Marco Polo at LP41, the Berlin at P7 and the Regal Princess at P8. The LP piers are in Rostock...the P piers are in Warnemunde.

Hi, this is a very personal choice as both have pros and cons. The train is less stressful, someone else does the driving, but with a car you are more flexible and can probably see more.

A Mecklenburg Lander day ticket will cost 4 adults 32€ in total. This ticket is valid on s-Bahn, RE and RB (red) trains anywhere in Mecklenburg ,all day after 9am on weekdays or after 3am on weekends. For full details see my web site - tickets page.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

Thanks again. I have bookmarked your website...great information!

That's very strange, we're also on this cruise & I had an email many months ago advising that the ship was now docking at Warnemunde NOT Rostock. There was also an advisory about it when trying to book on Celebrity website. Unfortunately this is not available anymore as it looks like the cruise is fully booked.

Celebrity website still shows it as Rostock when booking shore excursions. And as travelanni posted, the official port website shows the Eclipse at LH31...there are two other ships docked in Warnemunde at piers 7 & 8.

Either way, it will be nice to have a new area to explore. Hope to meet you onboard. Happy planning :)

Warning...if your Germany port call is Rostock and not Warnemunde, you will be docking at Pier LH31, which is the port further in the harbor. The ferries dock here. There are no services there....rental cars, trains, etc. There will be taxis and busses. Only the pier in Warnemunde has a cruise passenger terminal with rental cars and train.

Thank you to both Travelanni and GradUT....I appreciate your responses and information.

We have a rental car on hold in Rostock and area also considering just taking the train to Schwerin. Travelanni....do you recommend taking the train over getting a car? We are a family of four adults. Do you recall if the train was more than $25/person RT?

We are docking at LH31 in Rostock Port on the Celebrity Eclipse July 20th. Does anyone know if there is a car rental facility at that port? Or if the train is easy to get to?

This is NOT the cruise terminal in Warnemunde....this is the port where the ferries dock. The cruise terminal piers are full the day we arrive. Any insight would be appreciated.